There were the losses outside of Charlie Company. “That one guy fell off of the boat." “How about the mortar squad that got blown up at Bear Cat?" There seemed to be so many; people who got sick and never came back, people who had fallen off the ammi barge into the river never to be seen again. But most attention was given to their own combat losses. “Remember Lieutenant Black, blown up by the VC mine?" “Ron Schworer, what a tragedy. That guy was a genius, really going places. I wonder if they ever found his body?" At nearly the same time Hoover and Young remembered Don Peterson. “He was a good man; the best." “I wonder how Jacque and little Jimmy are doing? Must be tough on them. Maybe we should look them up when we get home?" “I wonder how Nelson, Ski, and Cortright are doing?" June 19 was almost too difficult to bear. The mortar platoon lost on the PABs; Lieutenant Schulman getting shot after his command was destroyed; everybody's friend Bill Geier dying while helping a wounded man; Forrest Ramos falling out of the helicopter; Tim Johnson being killed after everything seemed to be over. All of the wounded. “No way to remember all of the wounded - too damn many of them." “Yeah, seems like everybody got hurt at least once." Eakins, Ferro, and King - all killed together on July 11. “And what about Fred Kenney?" “Damn, that was tough. Never even got a chance to see his kid. Do you remember how he liked to show those pictures around all the time? He loved it when we got a replacement in, so he could show those pictures off to somebody new." Young opened up and let Hoover know how much losing Benny Bridges on July 29 had hurt. How he had never quite been the same since. Then, when it had all seemed like it was over - Burkhead, Alldridge, and Lieutenant Davis - all killed on the same day. Maybe in the same burst of fire.
World History
